Try Singapore If You Want To Sleep With Fishes : SEA Aquarium Sentosa

Sharks Swimming as you pass inside a glass tunnel

Scientists believe life originated in the abyss of deep blue Oceans and it took 200 million years before it made a great leap forward towards Terra firma. Even today most of the Oceans remain unexplored. All our journeys so far were on the surface of Ocean in search of new lands, fortunes and above all, to find India the source of all spices till a few centuries ago.

All other pursuits of Oceans by mankind (or should we call ourselves Man Unkind?)were to exploit the infinite bounties the dark depths offer in form of abundant fish and seafood. Only recently we have started understanding the ecological complexity and environmental importance of our Oceans. Most of the Oxygen on the planet is produced by microscopic plankton floating on the Ocean surface. And the depths have treasures that surpass all bounties known to man, and I am not talking about precious metals and gems.

Ok, enough of my googled gyan let us get back to the business and pleasure of travel blogging. So as regular readers of desi will remember I was in Singapore at Sentosa Island home of some of the best complete family entertainment fun places that we visited like

But today let us go to not only fun but also enriching the educational experience at S.E.A. Aquarium™ teeming with marine life.

Normally I am very liberal with adjectives like awesome, amazing, wonderful, mind-boggling etc. but I am yet to find an adjective that truly describes the S.E.A. Aquarium in Sentosa islands. Maybe I will stick to the simple yet powerful word: Huge.

Yes the S.E.A. Aquarium is Huge by all standards, from the variety of fish, the amount of water in the aquarium and the unique experiences you get at the S.E.A. Aquarium.

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As you enter the aquarium you pass under a glass tunnel under a Shark enclosure. I could see sharks of every shape and size including a Hammer Head shark. And the experience was totally surreal; to see these mighty creatures gracefully glide above you.

Inside the aquarium is divided into many sections depending on the place of origin of the animals, the scientific classification e.g. if it is a Fish or like say Star Fish (which is actually not a fish scientifically), the habitat of the creature e.g. open sea or mangrove or estuary etc.

The SEA Aquarium at Resort world Sentosa Island aims to create a natural environment for the species hence various enclosures. The staff at the aquarium is trained to take care of the various species and identify if any of the animals is not feeling healthy.

The scale of some of the enclosures is humongous with one of the biggest aquarium with many species like Mantis Ray, Sting Ray, different sharks etc. containing has more than 18 million liters of water and almost a meter thick glass wall weighs 2.5 Lakh Kilos. I am not even able to comprehend how the engineers designed and build it and then how they maintain such a huge aquarium.

As I stood in front of the massive glass panel looking at the creatures on the other side of the glass I wondered if they also wonder who we are. Do the fish wonder why different people come to watch them? Do they even know we are people or we seem to them just some moving patterns from the thick glass and water?

Some fun activities you can do at SEA Aquarium Resorts World Sentosa:

Sleep with the fishes: Ask a Sicilian what it is like sleeping with fishes and he will shrug with fear, but luckily we are talking about Singapore. Unlike Luca Brasi, who had to sleep with fishes while trying to protect The Godfather, you get to sleep with fishes in Singapore in the true sense. The SEA Aquarium offers a package where you can sleep in front of the huge aquarium overnight and are also given a guided tour. The package is very popular with schools who love to bring students to spend time with the marine creatures.

You can enjoy a special meal surrounded by the fishes at the Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora. But nothing beats staying in one of the rooms of the hotel attached to the SEA Aquarium as one of the walls of the room is Glass of the aquarium and you can watch the marine animals pass by your bedroom as you doze off and see them first thing in the morning. (Alas I only heard the same from our guide and did not experience it first hand).

You can also get your wedding photographs clicked at the aquarium with the marine life. Contact the SEA Aquarium if you would like to know more information about the Wedding Photography Package.

As we moved around in the aquarium we saw hundreds of a different kind of fish, sea creatures, crabs, sea cucumbers, jellies fish etc.

The jellyfish enclosure was a world in itself if hundreds of jellyfish floating in the water and as some of them came in the direct path of light they illuminated like a jewel. Now you know what treasures of the deep Oceans, I as talking about earlier in the post.

A Jelly Fish

Another Jelly Fish

Lots of Jelly Fish sparkling like gems in light

From jellyfish, we moved to what was like a mangrove habitat near some tropical island. Soon an employee of the SEA Aquarium appeared with a box of food for the inhabitants of the unique mangrove habitat. As if on cue suddenly the surface was teaming with fish excepting food, and as the caretaker distributed the bounties to waiting for fish the calm waters fluttered with activities as the fish lapped up and disappeared with their mid-day meal.

Meal time over we moved to the most interesting part of the aquarium, the petting pits.

Feeding Time at SEA Aquarium Singapore

Here in the shallow waters were some sleeping beauties like a biscuit colored Star Fish, some sea cucumbers that one could touch and feel. But before you touched you were given instructions like your hands should be clean, the touch should be gentle with only 2 fingers and you should not press too hard as you can hurt the creature. I was not too keen to touch the creatures as I have done that in past and did not actually felt it was a great experience. As the skin of the marine animals I have touched earlier like the Sting Ray and some other fish and I always felt creepy slippery rubbery kind of touch. So I avoided touching the fish this time and instead focused on clicking some pictures of people touching the fish.

Mantis Rays

Do you want to touch a star fish ?

Saw Faced Shark

Colors from the depth of Ocean

Colorful fish and creatures

A Starfish

A School of Fishing They are learning to swim

Colors Of Life from Deep Blue Ocean

Who wants to touch a marine creature ?

But if you have never touched a living sea creature, you can try the same at the SEA Aquarium Resorts World Sentosa Island.

Useful information about the SEA Aquarium at Sentosa Island Singapore:

Opening hours of the SEA Aquarium: 10 am to 7 pm every day.

Ticket prices: Normal tickets are from SG $ 32 for adults and SG $ 22 for children between 4-12 and senior citizens

More details can be found on the website of SEA Aquarium Visitor Information page.

You may also want to study this map of SEA Aquarium before you go to SEA Aquarium as it is a huge building and it is very easy to get lost ( don’t worry the Fish are in tanks and there are guides to help you at every corner )

Going by the crowds we saw at the SEA Aquarium in Singapore it seems one of the most popular attractions of Singapore, and why not ? Only a few attractions anywhere in the world can boast of fun, combined with environmental studies and enriching education for the younger generations. I strongly recommend visiting SEA Aquarium in Singapore on your next visit.

Note: I was in Singapore on an official Invitation from Singapore Tourism Board and Tigerair. Most pictures in this post are clicked with my cell phone Sony Xperia Z3

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